


Blood, Bone, And That Voice Again

by Abnormal_Cleric



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Danny's messed up, Murder, Sam Is a Good Friend, Self-Harm, The ghost is a voice in his head
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:35:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27770854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abnormal_Cleric/pseuds/Abnormal_Cleric
Summary: A ghost doesn't care about human lives until it's personal.A young man sitting alone on a rooftop that used to have someone else on it is pretty personal.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Blood, Bone, And That Voice Again

He was cold like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice on his head, but there was something deep down that boiled and hissed like hot oil. He didn’t look over the edge of the roof. He heard sirens and people shouting.

_ There now, _ the voice in his head crooned,  _ that wasn’t so bad, was it? _

Danny stumbled backward and sat down hard. He tried to speak, but the voice cut him off.

_ For what it’s worth, I think you did just fine; for a first-timer. Yeah, the first one’s always the hardest. It’ll get easier, I promise. _

“But- but I-” Danny tried to get up, but another wave of nausea sent him crashing back down.

The tone of the voice was suddenly sharp and bitter.  _ Feel like you’re going to be sick? Like you’re the worst thing that ever happened to the world? That’s totally natural. You just threw a guy off a roof for crying out loud! _

He felt a hand on his shoulder, but he knew no one was there. It was just the ghost, messing with his senses. “You... said it would get easier? When will this feeling stop?”

A quiet chuckle echoed through Danny’s skull, then a tired sigh. ‘ _ When will it stop’ he asks. ‘When will it stop’! Oh Daniel, it never stops. You just get used to it; dare I say. addicted. It hurts, sure, but just the thought of the terror in their eyes... ha hah…  _ The ghost put its other hand on Danny’s shoulder, then abruptly tightened its grip. _ Let’s find another one. Let’s make someone else scream. Let’s break off their fingers and watch them cry until their eyes bleed, then blow up their skull like a firecracker! _

Danny put a hand to his head, trying to make the spots in his eyes go away. The odd sense of heat and cold had reversed itself, making him feel as if his insides were frozen and his skin was on fire. “Do- do we… h-have to k-kill anyone?”

The ghost fell silent for a second, shocked by the very concept.  _ You’d rather leave them alive? I can understand not wanting to hurt them, especially from you, but leave them  _ alive _? That’s just plain sick. I like it. _

“No!” Danny screamed, throwing out his arms as if that would make the voice get out of his head. “We are not going to torture anyone! We aren’t going to break any bones or draw any blood. We aren’t even going to pop out of the sidewalk and scare small children. We’re going home.” He wasn’t usually this stern with the ghost, but he needed a minute to think.

_ Alright. We don’t have to do it now. _

His head still hurt, and he wasn’t sure if he could walk in a straight line, so he didn’t move. The air was cold and cleansing. It filled his lungs and broke something hard in his soul. That something started to leak down his face. It felt good to cry. He let it continue, trying to block out the ghost’s taunts. Except that… the ghost wasn’t taunting him. It sounded almost apologetic. It sounded like it was panicking, trying to fix its mistake and make it right.

_ Oh man, don’t… Don’t do that. Don’t cry. Here, we can wait. We can ease into it. Stick to people you don’t like. We don’t have to kill them all the way. How about we start small? We don’t even have to hurt someone else. We… we could go home and find something sharp. Use it on ourselves. I know how much you like that.” _

He sat with his knees pulled up to his chest for another minute; heels of his hands pressed against his ears, eyes wide. His voice was small and sincere. “You… you really think that’ll help?”

The voice was silent for a while.  _...I just thought… I thought it might take your mind off what happened. _

“Maybe we should call Sam. Last time I cut myself, she told me to call her if something happened. I think this counts as something happening.”

_ That’s nice of her. She’s a good friend. There’s a payphone in the lobby downstairs. _

“Yeah.” Danny stood up, shaking a little. “She’s a good friend.” He slowly made his way over to the door to the stairs.

It offered little resistance, but the hinges screamed as he swung it open. The stairs themselves were dark and cold and smelled like death. Danny knew that scent well.

One hand on the railing, he slowly made his way down the stairs. His breaths echoed off the walls.


End file.
